


sneak me out and keep it down

by lullatone



Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, owen being a Dad, tarlos being cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-02
Updated: 2020-03-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:21:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22991626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lullatone/pseuds/lullatone
Summary: After a night with TK, Carlos tries to make it out of the Strand house without being spotted.
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand, Owen Strand & TK Strand
Comments: 13
Kudos: 525





	sneak me out and keep it down

**Author's Note:**

> Woah!!! My first Lone Star Tarlos fic!!! I've really fallen in love with Lone Star, so expect some more fics in the future with Tarlos and some other ships! I love the dynamic TK and Owen have and I hope I did it justice. Like always thanks for reading!!

TK doesn’t have any issues living with his dad.

He can keep a close eye on Owen, make sure he has someone to rub his back in the middle of the night when he’s hunched over the toilet, and if TK’s nervous tendencies make him swing by his father's room in the middle of the night, that’s no one's business.

He likes sharing breakfast with his dad in the mornings, likes sitting down for a cheesy movie after a long day together at the 126. He takes care of Owen, and Owen takes care of him.

TK loves living with his dad.

Most of the time.

He’d invited Carlos over on a whim last night. Owen was out with Michelle and some others, and TK had needed company. Knowing Owen wouldn’t be back till late he’d texted Carlos, hoping he was free.

my dad’s not home, wanna come over? missing you<<

>>miss u too tiger. be there soon

Sure enough Carlos showed up a half hour later, ensuring TK that he had parked far down the street and that Owen wouldn’t know anyone was around.

It wasn’t that TK was embarrassed by Carlos or anything like that, he just wasn’t ready for the whole world to know. He liked Carlos, he really did. Carlos was kind and sweet and didn’t take crap from anyone, TK or otherwise. He made TK feel warm inside and out, and of course to top it all off he was hot as hell. 

TK just needed time. Time to figure out if he was ready for something like this again, ready to be loved like that. 

The last thing he needed was his dad worrying about TK’s newest relationship, when the man already had so much on his plate.

So while his dad is out line dancing, TK lets Carlos take him apart and put him back together again. It feels a little bit like when he was in high school, worrying that his dad might be home any second, his heart beating too fast while the boy above him kisses him and makes him feel alive and real.

When they’re finished, TK lets Carlos hold him close and press kisses into his hair, and they talk about everything and nothing. It’s terribly easy, and TK ignores the way his heart clenches when Carlos looks at him with sweetness in his eyes. 

He’s not quite ready to call this a relationship, but he feels he might be ready soon. 

The early morning sun wakes TK up, which in turn rouses Carlos as well. There’s something about the moment that makes TK want it to last forever, but Carlos kisses him silly before leaving the bed and quietly getting himself dressed. TK watches him from the bed, smiling. His voice is just above a whisper.

“It’s early enough. You wanna stay a bit longer. Share a shower?” 

Carlos chuckles as he pulls on his pants, shaking his head. “Yeah, like that won’t alert your dad.” 

He finishes dressing, walking over to the bed and leaning down for a kiss. TK accepts it greedily, placing a soft hand on Carlos’s cheek. When they part, TK feels that clenching of his heart again.

Carlos picks his sneakers up off the floor, holding them in his fingers. 

“I’ll throw them on when I get outside. I’ll be _extra_ quiet this way.” TK just rolls his eyes. “I’ll see you later Tiger.” 

“I’ll call you, okay?”

Carlos closes the door behind him, and TK lets his head hit the pillow, smiling up at the ceiling. 

-

Carlos tip toes down the stairs, feeling good about the low level of sound he’s making. If Owen’s asleep upstairs, as he should be at 6AM, then he’ll have no trouble making it out the door without being noticed.

Except when he reaches the bottom of the stairs, Owen is standing in the kitchen, newspaper in front of him along with what looks like celery.

“Morning Carlos!”

Carlos goes stone still, mouth hanging open slightly. “Uh. Good Morning Captain.”

“Would you like anything? Egg white omelette? I'm making some celery juice if you'd like some. They say it _really_ helps you start your morning.” Owen smiles brightly, chopping another celery stick in half.

“Uhm. No thank you Captain.” 

“Oh please Carlos, when you’re in my house, call me Owen.”

As nice as the man is, Carlos has a sneaking suspicion the captain is enjoying watching him sweat. 

-

TK cracks his door open, and his suspicions are confirmed when he hears his dad trying to make conversation with Carlos.

 _Shit shit shit_ **_shit._ **

Owen being up early isn’t uncommon, but usually he tended to sleep in a little after a night out. TK has the sneaking suspicion that the chemo caught up with his dad again and left him wide awake in the early morning. 

TK pokes his head out the door and is able to catch the tail end of their conversation. 

_“Thank you for the offer Ca-. Owen. But I’ve got an early shift.”_

_“Understood. Well then I’ll see you around.”_

TK hears the front door open and close, and he lets out a held in breath. Owen continues to chop downstairs and TK can hear him humming some _Top 40_ tune as he does so. 

TK isn’t exactly psyched for the conversation that’s about to happen, but he feels like he might as well get it over with.

He pops on sweats and his yellow hoodie, shuffling down the steps to the kitchen.

Owen gives his son a smile as he walks in, continuing to hum to himself as TK heads for the fridge.

He’s rooting around for the gallon of orange juice when Owen breaks the silence.

“So did you sleep well?” Owens tone is just on the side of teasing, and TK can’t help but groan.

“It was _fine_ , dad.”

There’s another beat of silence as TK finds the juice and closes the fridge. He’s prowling the cabinets for a clean cup when Owen speaks again.

“ _Sooo_ , is he your-”

“He’s not my boyfriend!” 

TK does feel a little bit like a petulant child, but Owen throws his hands up in quick defense.

“Okay okay! Just checking.” 

TK fills up his cup, returning the juice to the fridge and taking a seat across from his dad at the island. The silence is as comfortable as it can possibly be, and for a minute, TK assumes this means his dad has dropped it. 

It’s not that he doesn’t want to talk about it, it’s just that TK didn’t think Owen would find out about him seeing Carlos from him trying to sneak out the morning after. 

TK lets out a sigh that’s louder than he intends, and Owen hears, looking up from his paper and giving his son a sympathetic smile. 

“Carlos?”

TK laughs. “Yeah. Carlos.”

Owen simply nods, a thoughtful ‘hmm’ coming from his throat. His eyes flick to the door where the man in question had just left from moments ago, and he smiles again.

“Well, if it means anything, I do like him.”

TK smiles despite himself. 

“Yeah, me too.”


End file.
